The U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit on Friday against TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, for failing to protect children’s privacy on the free video app.
The lawsuit indicates that TikTok, which is more popular among the youth, has violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). COPPA mandates that services aimed at children must obtain consent from parents to collect personal information from users under 13 years old, Reuters news report said.
The Chinese-owned short-video platform has approximately 170 million U.S. users. TikTok is also facing a new law requiring ByteDance to divest TikTok’s U.S. business by January 19 or face a ban.
TikTok never disclosed the size of its revenue in the US. TikTok rival Meta Platforms has generated sales revenue of $16.59 billion from the US and Canada during the second-quarter of 2024.
Why targeting youth
Engagement with youth is a major target for digital media platforms such as TikTok and Facebook. Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently said during analyst call that the number of young adults, who use Facebook, is growing. The number of 18-29 year olds, especially in the US, is growing driving good results. It seems Facebook and Instagram do not offer access to children under 13 without consent from parents.
Mark Zuckerberg said building products with young adults in mind has been a core priority area for the Facebook team. Meta Platforms has achieved healthy growth in young adult app usage in the U.S. and Canada for the past several quarters. Products like Groups and Marketplace have seen traction with young adults.
Several children access digital platforms such as YouTube from Google. Does YouTube have mechanism to take consent from parents before showing adult content to children under 13, analysts ask.
Several children also watch adult content on popular websites using Internet from AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, etc. Why decision makers are not asking questions about free access for children under 13 to adult content on online platforms, analysts ask.
TikTok collects data?
This lawsuit is the latest U.S. action against TikTok and ByteDance over concerns that the company collects extensive data on Americans for the Chinese government and influences content in potentially harmful ways.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) joined the lawsuit, stating it aims to stop “TikTok’s unlawful massive-scale invasions of children’s privacy.”
Representative Frank Pallone, the top Democrat on the Energy and Commerce Committee, said the suit “underscores the importance of divesting TikTok from Chinese Communist Party control,” emphasizing the need to prevent adversaries from accessing vast amounts of Americans’ sensitive data.
TikTok responded on Friday, stating it disagrees “with these allegations, many of which relate to past events and practices that are factually inaccurate or have been addressed. We are proud of our efforts to protect children, and we will continue to update and improve the platform.”
The DOJ alleges TikTok knowingly allowed children to create regular accounts, and share videos and messages without obtaining parental consent, thus collecting personal information from these children unlawfully.
The U.S. claims that millions of American children under 13 have used TikTok for years, with the site collecting and retaining their personal information. FTC Chair Lina Khan remarked, “TikTok knowingly and repeatedly violated kids’ privacy, threatening the safety of millions of children across the country.”
The FTC seeks penalties of up to $51,744 per violation per day, which could potentially total billions of dollars if TikTok is found liable.
Last year, TikTok faced fines from the European Union and the U.K. over its handling of children’s data.
Additionally, the U.S. Senate passed a bill on Tuesday to extend COPPA to cover teenagers up to age 17, ban targeted advertising to kids and teens, and allow parents and kids to delete their information from social media platforms. The bill needs to pass in the Republican-controlled House, which is currently on recess until September, to become law.
Baburajan Kizhakedath
